Mbeye turned Mason into his zombie assassin, but while he got Mente the Phantom is still alive. He goes hunting for Mbeye, Bangalan immigrants sounding the drum call of the Ghost Who Walks. The Phantom breaks into Mbeye’s place but is captured and given the zombie drug. However, Mente’s ghost appears, encouraging the Phantom to fight it off and whispering the drum beat into the other zombie’s ears. The zombies are able to fight the drug enough to free the Phantom and surround Mbeye until the authorities arrive to give them the antidote.

What they got right: I called it; Mbeye was just trying to eliminate the competition in the drug trade. I do like that Mente got his own payback from beyond the grave. While the mystical elements in the 1996 movie was a bit far (I still like the movie mind you) a light bit of the paranormal, from science to fantasy, isn’t unheard of in Phantom lore.

What they got wrong: The writer did a terrible job of hiding the movie names he used for foreshadowing during the Phantom’s entry into the mansion. I also wonder how the artist got the Phantom’s mask right on the cover and yet in the story itself it looks like a terrible afterthought.

Recommendation: A good conclusion to the story. A prose book, The Man Eaters, tells what happened when the Phantom brought Mente’s body home and someday I may review that for Scanning My Collection. This was a good story and worth reading.